Section 2.1.4: Training International standards emphasise the importance of giving officers appropriate training on any use of force equipment they may have access to, or occasion to use. The Basic Principles (Principle 19) note that ‘Governments and law enforcement agencies shall ensure that all law enforcement officials are provided with training and are tested in accordance with appropriate proficiency standards in the Checklist for detention monitors: establishing policies and procedures on the use of force. 1) Are there clear, detailed regulations for the use of force, including regulations for all weapons (including firearms and less lethal weapons) authorised for use? 2) Do these regulations specify: • the various types of force that may be used; • the circumstances in which each type of force may be used; • the members of staff who are entitled to use different types of force; • the level of authority required before any force is used; and • the reports that must be completed once force has been used For more detail on what might constitute appropriate content of the regulations / appropriate circumstances in which particular types of force might be used, please see the next section. 3) Do regulations prohibit firearms and ammunition which cause unwarranted injury or risk? 4) Do these regulations ensure that only authorised equipment, as set out in the regulations, may be used in places of detention? This helps to clarify that it is not permissible for officials to use equipment that has not been authorised, or to use equipment that has not been designed for use on humans. It also helps to clarify that whilst the personal ownership of certain less lethal weapons (for example, electricshock weapons) for civilian self-defence purposes may be legal in some countries, these are not suitable for use in places of detention. 5) Do the regulations set out circumstances or cases where the use of force is prohibited? 14 use of force. Those law enforcement officials who are required to carry firearms should be authorized to do so only upon completion of special training in their use’. Similarly, the Nelson Mandela Rules note that officials should be trained in ‘use of force and instruments of restraint’ (Rule 76.1c) and that ‘prison staff should in no circumstances be provided with arms unless they have been trained in their use’ (Rule 82.3). Such principles can be usefully applied not just to prison and law enforcement officials, but to any staff member using force on detainees (including, for example, staff working in mental health settings or in immigration detention). Consideration should also be given to the content of training given to officers in places of detention. It is important that training does not just ensure that officers are proficient in use of the weapon, but that it also covers a broader range of issues around the use of force. The Basic Principles (Principle 20) specify that training should ‘give special attention to issues of police ethics and human rights… to alternatives to the use of force and firearms, including the peaceful settlement of conflicts, the understanding of crowd behaviour, and the methods of persuasion, negotiation and mediation, as well as to technical means, with a view to limiting the use of force and firearms’ and that ‘training programmes and operational procedures’ are ‘reviewed’ in light of ‘particular incidents’. The Nelson Mandela Rules note that training should cover ‘security and safety, including the concept of dynamic security, the use of force and instruments of restraint, and the management of violent offenders, with due consideration of preventive and defusing techniques, such as negotiation and mediation’ (Rule 76.1c). UNODC/OHCHR Resource book notes that, among other elements, training on use of force should be ‘scenario-based, with emphasis on those scenarios that the new recruit is most likely to encounter in practice’ and should cover the ‘relevant legal and ethical framework for… use of force… and the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’, ‘personal safety and stress management’ and cultural awareness and sensitivity to diversity, including gender awareness and awareness of child-related issues. Training should not be seen as a one-off but should be ‘reinforced by regular refresher training’ (UNODC/OHCHR Resource book 2017: 79). The UN Special Rapporteur (2017; point 66) has also stressed the need to ‘regularly monitor the effectiveness of such training in preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other human rights violations’. Article 11 of the Convention Against Torture notes that ‘each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices… with a view to preventing… torture’.